Steven Griffiths

LONDON: Arsene Wenger accused Bayern Munich of resorting to cynical tactics as 10-man Arsenal were left facing elimination from the Champions League after a 2-0 defeat to the holders.

Wenger's side are on the verge of crashing out of Europe's elite club competition in the last 16 at the hands of Bayern for the second successive season following a frustrating first-leg loss at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

The result was hard to take for Gunners boss Wenger, who was infuriated by what he perceived as Bayern's theatrical attempts to influence Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli, by making the most of any contact from Arsenal players.

Bayern made their class tell after an early wobble. Mesut Ozil's penalty was saved by Manuel Neuer before Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for conceding a spot-kick with a foul on Arjen Robben.

Bayern's David Alaba missed the penalty, but Pep Guardiola's team made their numerical superiority pay thanks to second-half goals from Germany midfielders Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller.

Wenger was convinced Robben conned Rizzoli to win the penalty that swung the balance of the match. The Frenchman made a diving gesture to Robben on the touchline just after the incident.

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''Robben made more of it,'' Wenger said. ''He has enough experience to make the most of it and Bayern made the most of every single contact.

''The sending off changed the game, it killed it. Until then it was top quality, but in the second half it was boring. It was one-way traffic.''

In the night's other tie, AC Milan defender Mattia de Sciglio could join the club's casualty list after hobbling off in a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid and being taken to hospital. De Sciglio was on the wrong end of a crunching tackle by Emiliano Insua in the 26th minute, prompting a melee and earning the Argentinian a yellow card.

He played on and was eventually replaced by Ignazio Abate, a change that would prove fateful after the defender headed on a corner for Diego Costa to score Atletico's late winner.